


A Celebration Deferred

by asideofourown



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Domestic Fluff, Don't copy to another site, Established Relationship, Kissing, M/M, New Year's Eve, Post-Canon, gratuitous kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:08:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22052266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asideofourown/pseuds/asideofourown
Summary: Crowley stared at him, his snakish eyes entirely golden.  When he grinned, there was the slightest flash of fang, and Aziraphale had to push down a warm feeling at the thought that Crowley was comfortable enough to be himself in Aziraphale’s presence.  “For you, of course,” Crowley said.  He seemed a bit more animated now, and he wriggled out from under the covers.“Whatever do you mean?” Aziraphale said with a frown.Crowley got up and rounded the bed, shuffling rather than swaggering over to where Aziraphale still stood in the doorway.  “I wanted to spend New Year’s with you,” he murmured, close enough that Aziraphale could feel the warmth of his body.  Crowley looped his arms around Aziraphale’s shoulders, and Aziraphale’s hands rose to rest on Crowley’s hips.  “I know I was asleep for the rest of the holiday season, but I wanted to do this with you, at least,” Crowley said with a smile.  “Besides, isn’t it a thing to kiss in the New Year?”[Crowley and Aziraphale celebrate New Year's Eve]
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 235
Collections: Good Omens Holiday Swap 2019





	A Celebration Deferred

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wildenights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildenights/gifts).



> Hello! This was written for the [Good Omens Holiday Swap](https://goodomensholidayswap.tumblr.com/) for [wildenights!](https://wildenights.tumblr.com/) I really hope you enjoy :D

It was not unusual for Crowley to hibernate in the winter.He tended to get sluggish and mopey as the temperature dropped, and Aziraphale could count on his fingers how many times he and Crowley had spent the holidays together since they had both settled permanently in Britain— and most of them were when they were posing as a nanny and a gardener to watch over a boy they believed to be the Antichrist.The only time they had spent the entire winter together had been the year before, when their romantic relationship was still new and Crowley had seemed to want to spend every moment possible with Aziraphale.

That aside, it was no surprise when Crowley sloped his way into the bookshop one chilly November evening and announced, “I’m going off to sleep, I think.”

Aziraphale looked up from the book he was working on restoring, and carefully set the binding down.“Hello, dear,” he said with a smile.

Crowley leaned across the counter to give him a quick kiss, and Aziraphale smiled at the taste of coffee still warm on his partner’s lips.“Would you like me to wake you up at any point?” Aziraphale offered, poking at the book binding in front of him and humming with displeasure.The poor thing _was_ rather cracked.He was loath to use miracles on his books, but this one might need it.

Crowley leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, sunglasses sliding slightly down his nose.“Um, I don’t know— listen,” he said, and Aziraphale looked up at the nervousness in his voice.

“Crowley, is everything quite alright?” he asked worriedly.

Crowley cleared his throat.“Yeah.‘Course. I just wondered…”He pulled his glasses off, fiddled with one arm.“Could I sleep here, maybe?”

Aziraphale’s eyebrows went up just slightly.“Of course, dear,” he answered immediately.“But I don’t know how comfortable the couch would be for months at a time.”

Crowley shifted slightly.“You have a bed, don’t you?” he said.“Upstairs, in your flat?”

Aziraphale brightened.“Ah, yes!It might be a bit dusty, but you’re welcome to it.”

Crowley flashed him a quick smile.“Thanks, angel,” he said.“Um, I’ll see you in a few months?”

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like,” Aziraphale promised with a smile.

Crowley leaned over and gave him one last sweet kiss before heading upstairs to Aziraphale’s little flat.Aziraphale smiled fondly, rather touched that Crowley would want to sleep in _his_ space, and happily went back to his book binding.

It was only several hours later, when night had well and truly fallen and the streets outside had quieted down, that Aziraphale decided to go upstairs and check on Crowley.He made an effort to walk quietly on the stairs, willing them not to creak, and then poked his head into the bedroom.

The last time he had seen it, it had been rather more dusty— Crowley had clearly given the space a bit of a clean up before lying down.The few books that had been left on the bed had been piled neatly on the desk and replaced with a demon-shaped lump under the covers.

Aziraphale smiled fondly and then quietly padded into the bedroom, pausing at the edge of the bed.He watched for just a moment, listening to the soft sounds of Crowley breathing, his heart swelling with love at Crowley’s ruffled hair poking out from under the covers, the way he had contorted himself into a ball under the covers, his one hand clutching at the pillow he had his face buried in.

Aziraphale pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Crowley’s head and then left the bedroom silently, closing the door behind him.He worked a quick miracle to ensure that the bedroom would stay at an optimal temperature, enough to keep Crowley warm under all his blankets without overheating him, and then headed back downstairs with a tiny smile.

* * *

“I’m a bit surprised you’re open, Mr. Fell,” one of Aziraphale’s customers said, plopping a pile of books on the counter.   


Aziraphale looked up from the book he was reading and did his utmost to hide his displeasure.“Dear girl, why wouldn’t I be?” he said absently, flipping through the books to see if there were any he could refuse to sell right off the bat.

“Well, it is Christmas Eve,” the customer pointed out, looking through her bag for her wallet.   


Aziraphale set two of the books aside with a harried excuse about them being _damaged, shouldn’t have even been on the shelves, entirely my mistake, terribly sorry,_ and then replied, “Well, it’s not as though I’m doing anything, so I might as well be open.Oh, can I convince you not to buy this book?”

“I do need a gift for my girlfriend,” the customer said, pulling out enough money to pay for the book that Aziraphale couldn’t think of an excuse not to sell her.Aziraphale sighed deeply and took her money, giving the book’s cover one last pat before surrendering it.

“Mr. Fell,” the customer said, taking the book and clutching it carefully to her chest.“Pardon me for asking, but don’t you have a partner?”   


Aziraphale couldn’t hold back his slightly wistful smile.“I do, yes,” he said, tucking the money away in the till.She had given him all large bills, which meant that he wouldn’t be able to use it to provide change to other customers— terribly considerate of her.

“And he’s not around?” the customer pressed.She glanced around the shop, which was conspicuously undecorated for any winter holiday.Aziraphale cleared his throat, thought of darling Crowley slumbering peacefully upstairs.

“Ah, he— travels during this time of year.Ah, work obligations.”

“At Christmas?” the customer said, looking appalled.

Aziraphale just shrugged. “Can I help you with anything else?” he asked a bit pointedly.She was the only customer in the shop, and if she left he could close early and finally get at that rare 12th century manuscript he had been itching to page through.   


“Nope,” the customer said with a bright smile.“Happy holidays, Mr. Fell!And safe travels to your partner!”

“Happy holidays,” Aziraphale replied, following her to the door and flipping the sign closed as soon as it shut behind her.He paused for just a moment, sighed quietly.

He had considered decorating for the holidays, but had ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it.In the past he usually hadn’t been home for the end of December, after all, out doing blessings and assignments as Heaven tried to meet its quotas for the fourth quarter— so what difference did it make?Besides (and now Aziraphale was being silly, and a bit maudlin), it wasn’t as though he had anyone to celebrate _with,_ not as Crowley enjoyed his yearly nap that probably wouldn’t end until early March.

Aziraphale turned back to the bookshop, snapping his fingers to make sure the door was locked.If he were the main character in a sappy, unrealistic holiday movie, this was probably the moment that Crowley would come walking down the stairs, a Christmas miracle in demon form, smiling warmly and ready to celebrate.   


Aziraphale was not the main character in a sappy, unrealistic holiday movie, though.He smiled just slightly at the thought of his darling Crowley getting swept up in the spirit of _Christmas_ , when so much as a wish for sweet dreams set him rolling his eyes and grumbling, and then retreated to his back room and eagerly opened his new manuscript.

* * *

The thing about being an angel was that Aziraphale didn’t _have_ to eat. He enjoyed it, immensely, both the food and the company he sometimes shared, and so had made something of a regular habit of it.But when he settled in, really settled in, to read a new book, sometimes he would go for large spans of time without even moving.

So once he had settled in on Christmas Eve with his manuscript and a nice mug of cocoa miracled to never grow cold or run out, Aziraphale kind of lost track of time.He sat down at about 3:15 on Christmas Eve with his book in his lap and his cocoa at his hand, and the next time he looked up it was dusk and an indeterminate period of time had passed.

Aziraphale closed his book with a small, satisfied smile, and set it aside.He’d file it later somewhere on his shelves, to be guarded and never sold.That done, he finished his cocoa and took the mug to the sink in his kitchenette, washing it out by hand before leaving it to dry.After, he puttered around for a bit— he cleared up a few piles of books, straightened his desk a little, and haphazardly dusted a few shelves that had gotten out of hand while he had been reading before giving up on that.

Finally, Aziraphale glanced around at the calendar he kept on his desk, miracled to show the correct date.“New Year’s Eve,” he murmured, suddenly a little sheepish.He hadn’t meant to read for quite that long.“I ought to go check on Crowley,” he added.

It wasn’t out of loneliness, not at all, he assured himself as he walked slowly up the stairs to prevent them from creaking too loudly.After all, in the past, he and Crowley had gone decades or centuries without seeing each other!A few months was nothing, especially when Aziraphale had his books to occupy him.It was just the responsible thing to do to check up on his best friend and partner, that was all.

Aziraphale found the bedroom door slightly open as he had left it, and carefully stuck his head in.Crowley was still in bed, warm under all his covers, although now he was splayed out across the entire mattress like a red-headed, goth starfish.

Aziraphale’s smile was decidedly soppy and sentimental, and he stepped into the bedroom.Crowley looked a bit chilly, he decided, gazing down at the love of his life.With a soft snap and a quiet shimmer of power, he conjured another comforter— this one tartan, which Crowley would pretend to hate.Aziraphale chuckled as he carefully laid the blanket over Crowley, taking care to tuck it around his shoulders.He blew Crowley a fond kiss and then made to leave, but just as he was stepping out the door a horrible alarm noise began to sound behind him.

Aziraphale yelped, turning on his heel and preparing to silence whatever was making that dreadful noise before it woke Crowley, but Crowley was already stirring.As Aziraphale watched, Crowley groaned lowly and then fumbled around on the bedside table.

The sound shut off a moment later, and Crowley sat up.“‘ziraphale?” he mumbled, spotting Aziraphale in the doorway.

Aziraphale deflated.“Oh, dearest, I truly didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.“I’m terribly sorry.I don’t know what was making that dreadful noise, if I did it, or—”

“Angel, I had an alarm set,” Crowley said.His voice was still a little rough with sleep, husky and low, and Aziraphale held back a shiver.

“An alarm?” he repeated.

Crowley leaned up against the bed’s headboard and wagged his phone at Aziraphale, still blinking sleepily.“Yup.For, uh, six pm on the 31st?”He stifled a yawn into his palm and ruffled his fingers through his disheveled hair.

“May I ask why?” Aziraphale asked tentatively.Maybe Crowley also had a yearly quota that he had been planning to cram for— although now, it would be entirely self-imposed.

Crowley stared at him, his snakish eyes entirely golden.When he grinned, there was the slightest flash of fang, and Aziraphale had to push down a warm feeling at the thought that Crowley was comfortable enough to be himself in Aziraphale’s presence.“For you, of course,” Crowley said.He seemed a bit more animated now, and he wriggled out from under the covers.

“Whatever do you mean?” Aziraphale said with a frown.

Crowley got up and rounded the bed, shuffling rather than swaggering over to where Aziraphale still stood in the doorway.“I wanted to spend New Year’s with you,” he murmured, close enough that Aziraphale could feel the warmth of his body.Crowley looped his arms around Aziraphale’s shoulders, and Aziraphale’s hands rose to rest on Crowley’s hips.“I know I was asleep for the rest of the holiday season, but I wanted to do this with you, at least,” Crowley said with a smile.“Besides, isn’t it a thing to kiss in the New Year?”

Aziraphale smiled slowly.“Oh, love, you didn’t have to, I know you like to sleep,” he started even as warm love welled in his chest.

Crowley rolled his eyes, his fondness entirely visible without his sunglasses.“Excuse you, I’d rather like the opportunity to make out with you,” he said, and gave Aziraphale a quick kiss.“Actually, it’s already midnight in some parts of the world, shouldn’t we be kissing already?”He leaned in and kissed Aziraphale again.

Aziraphale laughed against his lips, kissing him once more before pulling away.“None of that, you lovely fiend,” he said with a smile.“Would you like to come downstairs, or do you plan to kiss up here for the next six hours?”

“I could go for some champagne,” Crowley said with a thoughtful look, still clinging to Aziraphale.“Maybe some of those biscuits you like, the ones with the chocolate?Ohhh, or maybe some mulled wine?”

Aziraphale laughed, bringing one hand up to cup Crowley’s face and gently brushing his thumb over Crowley’s cheek.“I think I can accommodate.”

They headed downstairs together, still arm in arm, but Crowley paused at the bottom.“You didn’t decorate your shop at all?” he asked, sounding surprised.

Aziraphale shrugged, brushing past his partner to head for the champagne and the biscuits and the wine.“I lost track of things, a bit,” he replied mildly.“And there’s not much point in decorating once the holidays are over, now, is there?”

“That’s not very festive,” Crowley said with a small frown.He snapped his fingers, changing from his pajamas to a dark red sweater and slacks.

Aziraphale snorted, rummaging around in the cupboards.He was certain he had bought the biscuits Crowley had mentioned at some point, hadn’t he?“It’s not as though you care much about festive,” he replied.“Aha!”He pulled the biscuit tin out of the back of the cupboard and set it triumphantly on the table before turning to find Crowley lounging in the corner, his arms crossed over his chest and his sunglasses still nowhere in sight.

“Maybe I don’t, but you do,” he replied slowly.“You like the holidays.All the goodwill to all men, and cheers to the future, and generosity and happiness, and all that rubbish.Why didn’t you decorate?”As he spoke he slunk forward, prying open the biscuits and apportioning out a couple onto two miracled plates.

Aziraphale dug around for wine to give himself a moment to think.

“Was it because I was sleeping?” Crowley asked softly, his words a little muzzy with the biscuit in his mouth.   


Aziraphale swallowed hard, turned.“You sleep through the winter most years, this isn’t any different,” he said evasively, setting the wine on the table.After a moment of consideration he snapped his fingers, and the bottle accommodatingly found itself to be two large mugs of mulled wine.They could break out the champagne later, a little closer to midnight.

“For the last ten years, I haven’t really,” Crowley pointed out.He edged a little closer, picking at his fingernails.“Angel, were you—”

“It’s silly!” Aziraphale exclaimed, looking away in embarrassment.“It’s terribly silly, I know, it’s just… the best part of the holidays, this past decade, has been spending it with you, and without you it just didn’t seem as fun.But I’d never want to ask you not to nap, darling, I know the cold is ever so hard on you, and I—”

“Aziraphale,” Crowley said, finally stepping into Aziraphale’s space and pulling him into a hug.“Do you want to celebrate now?All of it, I mean— Christmas, Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Yule, New Year’s.Festivus, if you want.”   
  
“That might be a bit much,” Aziraphale said with a laugh.“We could do New Year’s, though, at the very least.If you were amenable.”

Crowley nuzzled his cheek, surprisingly sweet.“Whatever you want, angel.”

Aziraphale felt the little shiver of power that came with Crowley’s miracles, and a small box of decorations appeared on the table.Aziraphale laughed.“We could decorate the back room, at least,” he said with a smile, and gave Crowley a kiss on the tip of the nose.“Thank you, dearest.”

Crowley shrugged loosely, letting go of Aziraphale to pick up a tangled ball of tinsel.“I love you, or whatever,” he mumbled.“Part of the package, innit?”He dug around and pulled a truly terrible angel tree topper from the box with a wide grin.“Oh, since we don’t have a tree, where should we put this?”

Aziraphale smiled, trying for fussy but probably only looking smitten.“Wherever you’d like, sweet.”

Crowley made a dramatic face at the endearment, and set about trying to balance the angel on top of Aziraphale’s coatrack.

They went about decorating the back room of the bookshop, hanging up tinsel and strings of fairy lights and little wreaths.There were conspicuously no candles in the box of decorations, and Aziraphale smiled slightly before conjuring up a few battery powered ones to put in the windows.

For such a small space, the back room took a while to decorate— it probably didn’t help that both Aziraphale and Crowley were steadily drinking mulled wine and chatting as they worked, and so were increasingly distracted. When they finished, they settled together on the back room’s couch.Crowley slung an arm around Aziraphale’s shoulders and filled his mug with wine again, slouching back and admiring their work.“Looks nice,” he said with a small smile.

Aziraphale cuddled against Crowley, a little tipsy himself.“It does, rather,” he agreed softly.He kissed Crowley on the cheek.“Thank you, dearest.”

“Of course.”Crowley took a sip of wine and then pulled Aziraphale a little closer.They snuggled on the couch for a good while, drinking wine and talking softly.

Outside, Aziraphale could hear people in the streets, probably preparing to party in the new year.Inside, he and Crowley were peaceful— in years past, Aziraphale imagined that Crowley had been the type to party, if he was awake, but his lovely demon seemed more than happy for them to be together.

Finally, as the clock inched closer to midnight, Crowley said, “Angel, do you want to dance?”

Aziraphale blinked in surprise.He had been nodding off just slightly, despite the fact that he didn’t really sleep, lulled by the gentle rhythm of Crowley’s breathing and the warmth of the bookshop.“Dance?” he said.“Oh, I’m afraid I don’t really know how.I don’t imagine you want to do a gavotte.”

Crowley grinned and got to his feet, offering Aziraphale a hand.“It’s not too hard, angel, we’ll figure it out together.”

Aziraphale smiled and then took Crowley’s hand.As he did, the record player flicked on and began to play some kind of quiet music, a waltz with a slow beat.He placed his hands carefully, letting Crowley have the lead, and Crowley chuckled.“You liar, you have danced before.”

“Just because I don’t know how to dance doesn’t mean I don’t know how it’s done,” Aziraphale sniffed.

Crowley grinned, resting their foreheads together and drawing close as they began to sway vaguely to the beat of the music.“See, not that hard,” he breathed, and Aziraphale didn’t even need the preternatural ability to sense love in order to see it in Crowley’s eyes.

“Not too hard at all,” Aziraphale agreed a little breathlessly.

They danced like that, slow, gentle, smitten, and horridly romantic, as the clock ticked in the corner and the hubbub grew outside.The waltz ended, sliding into another song, and they didn’t miss a beat.As they danced, they inched closer to each other until they were as much in each other’s arms as they could possibly be.

In the distance, fireworks began to go off.“I think that’s midnight,” Crowley said without taking his eyes off Aziraphale.

Aziraphale smiled back, slow and adoring.“I do believe you’re correct.”He wasn’t sure which one of them did it, but a small spring of mistletoe appeared above them.

“Now we’ve got to kiss,” Crowley said with a little smirk.“Between the mistletoe and the time, it’s basically a law.”   


Aziraphale laughed softly. “You don’t have to tempt me, darling.”He leaned in and gave Crowley a gentle kiss, trying to imbue all the millennia of love and affection and adoration into one.If the way Crowley kissed him back was any indication, Crowley understood perfectly.

They finally parted, and Crowley whispered, “Happy New Year, Aziraphale.”

Aziraphale smiled back.“Happy New Year, Crowley, love,” he said.“And here’s to many, many more.”

Crowley grinned at that, and kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed! I'm [here](https://asideofourown.tumblr.com/) if that's something you're into. And happy 2020!!!


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